Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 21:22

At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint [battering] rams against the gates, to cast a mount, [and] to build a fort.

22. at his right hand ] in his right hand is the lot (or, oracle) “Jerusalem,” to set battering rams, to open the mouth with a cry. Though “battering rams” occurs again in the verse the word can have no other sense, such as “captains.” The word “cry” seems required by the parallel “shouting;” the letters have probably been transposed. On the apparatus of siege, cf. ch. Eze 4:2.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 22. At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem] He had probably written on two arrows; one, Jerusalem; the other, Riblath; the third, left blank. He drew, and that on which Jerusalem was written came to his hand; in consequence of which he marched immediately against that city. It was ripe for destruction; and had he marched before or after, it would have fallen; but he never considered himself as sure of the conquest till now.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Either the divination which concerned Jerusalem was managed on his right hand, that way the arrows were thrown, the images stood, and sacrifices were offered; or else the lot drawn with the right hand of the priest came forth for Jerusalem. The promising lot, encouraging tokens, were those which directed this superstitious, idolatrous kin to attack Jerusalem first, and this by the overruling providence of God, who determined by infinite wisdom what seemed to blind men to be the event designed by their divinations.

To appoint; now Nebuchadnezzar sets all in order pursuant to his observance of the diviners.

Captains; the commanders of his forces, and their particular charges in the march and siege; he did, it is probable, assign them by lot, as is ordinary where greatest dangers attend the charges.

To open the mouth; to assault the city where breaches were made, and storm the battered walls, to slay the defenders, and to run the hazard of being slain by them.

With shouting; so all the barbarous, fierce nations did with shouts and hideous noises assault and fight their enemies, and with this they hoped to terrify and amaze them, and so more easily master them; and so these Babylonians did, as may be collected from Psa 137:7; Jer 51:14, where Babylon shall be repaid her shouts.

Battering rams; engines made to beat down walls; and they had this name from the iron or brass head, which usually was at the end of it, like unto the head of a ram.

Against the gates, which might more easily be broken and beat down.

To cast a mount: in a siege of some length mounts must be raised to offend the besieged by shooting from the tops of them into the city, and to defend the besiegers; and the toil and danger hereof seems here to be cast on both overseers and labourors too by lot.

To build a fort; wooden towers now all these works being thus by lot disposed, the wary tyrant prevents the murmurs of his commanders and soldiers, and insinuates a courage into them by the pretences of assured success, and his idols approving them.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

22. Rather, “In hisright hand was [is] the divination,” that is, he holds up in hisright hand the arrow marked with “Jerusalem,” to encouragehis army to march for it.

captainsThe Margin,“battering-rams,” adopted by FAIRBAIRN,is less appropriate, for “battering-rams” follow presentlyafter [GROTIUS].

open the mouth in . . .slaughterthat is, commanding slaughter: raising the war cry ofdeath. Not as GESENIUS,”to open the mouth with the war shout.“

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem,…. All his divinations, whether by arrows, or by images, or by liver, all directed him to his right hand, to turn to that which led to Jerusalem; and thus what appeared to him to be the effect of divination was overruled by the providence of God, to direct him to go and do what he designed he should:

to appoint captains to open the mouth in the slaughter; upon which he appointed his several captains and officers their distinct bodies of men they were to lead on to the siege of Jerusalem; and give them the word of command when to attack the place, scale the walls, or make breaches in it, and fall upon the enemy, and make a slaughter of them. The word for “captains” signifies “rams”; and Joseph Kimchi interprets it of battering rams, to beat down walls; but these are after mentioned; and is both by Jarchi and David Kimchi explained of general officers of the army; and so the Targum,

“to appoint generals to open the gates, that the slayer may enter by them:”

to lift up the voice with shouting; which is usually done in sieges, when a shout is made, and a place is stormed; both to animate the besiegers, and to terrify the besieged:

to appoint battering rams against the gates; to break them down, or break through them, and so make way for the army to enter in; these were engines used in sieges, to beat down walls, and make breaches in them, that the besiegers might enter; so called from the iron heads of them, which resembled rams; and are thus described by Josephus o,

“the ram is a huge beam, not unlike the mast of a ship; the top of it is capped with a thick piece of iron, in the form of a ram’s head, from whence it has its name: this is hung by the middle with ropes to another beam, which lies across, supported by a couple of posts; and thus hanging equally balanced, is, by a great number of men violently thrust backwards and forwards, and so beats the wall with its iron head; nor is there any tower so strong, or wall so broad, as to resist its repeated strokes.”

Vitruvius p says it was invented by the Carthaginians at the siege of Cadiz; but Pliny q affirms it was invented by Epeus at the siege of Troy; but the first mention of them is made by Ezekiel here, and in Eze 4:2, and Diodorus Siculus r affirms they were not known in the times of Sardanapalus, when Nineveh was taken by Arbaces. The Targum interprets it of officers set at the gates, as before; and so Jarchi:

to cast a mount; made up of earth, to raise their batteries upon: and

to build a fort; to cast out their arrows from thence, and protect the besiegers; [See comments on Eze 4:1].

o De Bello Jud. l. 3. c. 7. sect. 19. Vid. Valtrinum de Re Militari Roman. l. 5. c. 6. p. 526. p De Architectura, l. 10. c. 19. q Nat. Hist. l. 7. c. 56. r Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 113.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(22) At his right hand was.This is too exactly literal. The sense is, into his right hand came the divination which determined his course towards Jerusalem. Captains should be as in the margin, battering. rams (see Eze. 4:2), for the siege of Jerusalem; the same word is so translated farther on in this verse. The remaining clauses portray the operations of the attack.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

22. At his right hand, etc. Rather, in his right hand is the lot Jerusalem, to set battering-rams, etc. The oracle has decided that his siege implements shall be set against Jerusalem instead of Rabbah. The capture of the Ammonite city may come later (Eze 25:4).

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

“In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth for the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounts, to build forts.”

Ezekiel drew attention to the divination ‘in his right hand’ (which probably meant that it had been selected), that for Jerusalem, with all it portended. When it was followed it would result in the whole paraphernalia of warfare being applied against Jerusalem, the battering rams, the shouts for slaughter, the battlecries that chilled the blood, the casting up of mounts and the building of forts, all methods depicted in inscriptions. The second reference to battering rams amplifies the picture by depicting the attack on the gates, the vulnerable point of any city. Jerusalem was doomed.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Eze 21:22 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint [battering] rams against the gates, to cast a mount, [and] to build a fort.

Ver. 22. To appoint captains. ] Heb., Rans; fierce and forward, to lead on their soldiers, let them get off as they could.

To open their mouth. ] To storm and take it by an onslaught, and with a general slaughter, non sine barritu militari, vociferatione, et clangore insolenti.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)